FIRED UP about Genetic Testing

In a quest to live our FIRE life to the fullest, Mr. FiredUp and I chose to have the 23 & Me DNA testing done.  We did it mainly to find info on medical issues that may appear in our DNA.  A bonus was finding out more ancestry information (I’m 16% Polish – shocker!).

Mr. FiredUp had a slight increased risk for diabetes and glaucoma in his DNA.  We knew about the diabetes (which is why we mainly now eat a Whole Foods Plant Based diet) but glaucoma came as a surprise.  This is something we’ll discuss with his eye doctor.

For me, a slight increased risk for glaucoma came up too, but so did an increased risk in Late Onset Alzheimer.  This shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise to me.  My father died a few years ago at age 88 and Alzheimer symptoms began in his early 80s.  23 & Me reported that my DNA showed 2 of the 4 genes for Late Onset Alzheimer.   Additionally, there is a 65% chance that I will get Late Onset Alzheimer by the time I’m 85 years old.   I must say, this threw me into a mini-depression for a few days.   But it is what it is!  So now I’m on a quest to make sure I do everything I can do to minimize Late Onset Alzheimer.   In seeking education on Alzheimer prevention, I came across a podcast by two married neurologists (Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzei).  In paraphrasing the information I heard, they prescribe eating a WFPB diet (which we already do), getting good sleep, and playing brain games.  All very doable items.

Even though I was a bit depressed after receiving DNA info from 23 & Me, I do recommend others to give it a try too.  It gave us a heads up to possible medical problems we may have in the future.  And who knows, maybe you’ll be 16% Polish too!